The Southport Park Association, working in partnership with the City of Kenosha, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $54,000 by the Fund for Lake Michigan. This is a matching grant for a $46,000 award recently received by the City of Kenosha from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program for Phase 2 of the Southport Park Watershed Rejuvenation Project.
These monies will be combined with remaining funds from an earlier phase 1 grant of $87,000 from the Fund for Lake Michigan for a Design and Engineering Plan for Southport Park, adopted by the City of Kenosha Parks Commission in 2022. The combined project funding totaling $110,000 will be used to construct a modernized exterior drainage system for the Southport Park Beach House. The new system will mitigate nonpoint source pollution from the Pike Creek watershed into Lake Michigan.
The project looks to move beyond the restoration of the Historic Beach House to environmental improvements along the Southport Park shoreline and landscape. These improvements will address pollution runoff associated with storm water, erosion, habitat restoration and park accessibility. The City of Kenosha will provide contract administration management for the implementation of this project.
Lake Michigan is one of Wisconsin’s greatest assets, vital to myriad state resources and our economic future. The mission of the Fund for Lake Michigan is to help sustain the lake on behalf of the people and places that depend on it. Their goal is to have a deep, positive impact on the health of Lake Michigan and Wisconsin communities through support for projects addressing the water quality of Lake Michigan, shoreline erosion, and habitat destruction. They invest in initiatives that will have long-term benefits to the plants, animals, and people of Wisconsin.
Founded in 2014 by community volunteers, Southport Park Association is a 501C (3) not-for-profit corporation whose primary mission is to foster historic preservation and enduring environmental stewardship throughout Kenosha’s lakefront park system. In keeping with this mission, Southport Park Association pursues grant opportunities that unite groups like the Fund for Lake Michigan with local government. Southport Park Association and its Board of Directors wish to express their sincere gratitude to the Fund for Lake Michigan for this grant and to the City of Kenosha and Mayor John Antaramian for their investment of time, energy, and resources toward the Kenosha Lakefront Park system in general and Southport Park specifically.
Inquiries to the Fund for Lake Michigan may be directed to:
Casey Eggleston, Program Officer
casey@fundforlakemichigan.org 608-334-7788.
Link to the Fund For Lake Michigan website: https://fundforlakemichigan.org/
The Southport Park Association can be reached at southportassociation@gmail.com
This link provides further information about the future vision for Southport Park:
www.southportparkassociation.org
Southport Park Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization,
working to connect People, Parks, and Preservation
4623 75th Street #4, Box 249
Kenosha WI 53142
